When you come back
by Levicorpus-30
Summary: The years after the war were hard and desperate. None more so than for George Weasley. Losing his brother hit him hard. But time moves on and things change. George becomes friends with his nephew Hugo and with his help learns to live again.
1. Chapter 1

The mirror sat in the dusty corner of a long forgotten room. The only sounds that could be heard were the soft footfalls and muffled conversations of passers by. It had been a lonely existence since the mirrors banishment to this dreary place, it's tarnished glass was dull and lifeless. It was a shadow of what it had once been.

The mirror remembered its glory days of being a favourite destination for those that were lonely, lost or lacking. The mirror recounted it's long days of showing those who sought it or stumbled upon it what they wanted and occasionally what they needed. Many had faded in front of its reflection observing what they were or could be, Leaving them a shadow of their true selves. The mirror despised those people, those who could not separate the abstract from reality.

The mirror knew the power that it wielded over people, it had tried fruitlessly over the years to use its power for good and the light showing people what they could truly be or what they truly wanted. The mirror was aware of how its reflections had warped and changed people moving them further and further away from who they truly could be.

A wise wise man once said that only the purest of souls could stare into its depths and see only there own reflection.

The mirror knew what had to be done. And so it waited


	2. Chapter 2

A lot of things had changed in 20 years. The world wasn't as shiny as it had once been, there was the unmistakable taint in what was once good and pure. The strained smiles and cautious looks shared between people as they went about their daily business. The dark reminders that littered the streets; spell scorch marks on floors, blast marks in buildings and stains that reappeared regardless of the amount of times that they were removed. Everyone had tried to move on and forget what had happened in their world, pretend that the horrors hadn't existed. Whispered reminders of the monsters that lived in the dark recesses of the past and cautionary tales told to children at bedtime were what remained.

Life had been hard and kind in equal measures after the war. People moved on and tried to learn to live again, some had more success in this endeavour than others. Everyone had lost a loved one during the dark days of the war. Some people accepted their loss as being a necessity in the fight; others had retreated into themselves fearing every tap at the window would be news of another family member lost despite the years that had passed.

The country looked to those who embodied the good and just in the world. The golden trio,as they were dubbed, were heralded as the poster children for the new age; one of equality, prosperity and peace. It was ironic that whilst people celebrated the dawn of the new age the children that had made it a reality were used and broken and cast off as necessary casualties. No family understood this more than the Weasley's.

The Weasley's had been through two wars and had not escaped unscathed from either. Although the family was larger than it had ever been before there were still days where it felt incomplete. Success had rained down on the family after the war. Ginny and Harry had married shortly after, Harry had risen quickly within the department of magical law enforcement and was now head Auror over the investigative division. Ginny had become the youngest chaser in history to be capped for the national quidditch team, beating Oliver Wood by two years. After 8 years of professional quidditch Ginny fell pregnant and retired to raise the ever growing potter brood. Harry and Ginny had never been happier with the hand that life had dealt them. Hermione and Ron were married a few years after the war. Their relationship, tempestuous and fraught as it was, was one which people looked at with much envy. Never had there been two people so mismatched but yet so in love. Ron had trained with Harry after the war and had been alongside him in some of the most dangerous of circumstances always guarding his back and providing counsel, an occurrence which didn't go unnoticed., in rare introspective moments Ron would tell his colleagues that he always had Harry's back through the years although in the dark of night Ron would weep with the remaining guilt of leaving Harry and hermione alone in the Forest of Dean all those years ago swearing to never do it again. However after three years of active duty Ron took a stunner to the chest and spent weeks in st. Mungo's recuperating. At hermione's request Ron left the department of magical law enforcement and now worked alongside George at Weasley's wizarding wheezes. Hermione worked at the ministry, her rise within the ranks was nothing short of meteoric. Starting as a lowly office worker within the department for regulation of magical creatures she quickly transformed the archaic and misinformed department into a universally acknowledged centre for excellence which gave rights and freedoms to creatures and people who were historically downtrodden and undermined. Under hermione's leadership the department created opportunities for all manner of individuals culminating in hermione's greatest achievement the Werewolf Inclusion Policy and the formation of a scholarship for academic excellence known as the Lupin Award. Life moved along merrily for the couple and as time went by they welcomed children into their lives and were happier than ever.

For the remaining Weasley's life continued Bill and Fleur were making a life for themselves and their children, Bill continued as a curse breaker for gringotts and Fleur was never happier than when surrounded by her children. Charlie returned to Romania and continued his affair with the wild dragons that lived there. Percy surprisingly left the ministry after the war and found himself working as an actuary in hogsmeade, he never failed to return home to the Burrow every Sunday for the infamous Weasley Sunday lunch. Molly and Arthur found themselves head of a household larger than they ever imagined. On occasion Molly could be found staring out of the window as if waiting for someone to appear over the hills that surrounded the Burrow. The family knew that during those moments that all that could be done was to sit with her and to wait.

All that remained was George. George retreated in on himself after the war and for the longest time there was no one who could reach him. The family would sit outside the twins room and just listen to the gut wrenching sobs that were emitted. Over time the sobs receded and George was left mute and alone caught up in the all consuming grief and pain that was now his world. The family tried to reach out to him, when a new Weasley was added to the fold George would sit in silence watching a new life unfold in front of him and be reminded of the part of his life that was lost. George became a shell of his former self almost robotic in his action. He woke up, ate, went to work, returned and slept. There was no deviation from this programme. George kept the shop running but only barely, all new development was put on hold and the stocks soon ran low. George had no interest in continuing the production of the shops best selling items. As fate would have it, it was at this point that Ron came to work at the shop. Ron injected some much needed enthusiasm into this sad environment and slowly the shop began to return to a ghost of its previous self. As children came along the shop took on a new life, it was as if Ron wanted to give them some experience of his childhood and the wonders and often painful experiences that he had had at the the hands of his older brothers.

It was this that woke something within George Weasley.

The entire family remembered fondly the day that they saw a spark of the old George. It was on Ron and hermione's son Hugo's 6th birthday, forever overshadowed by his sister Hugo was a quiet thoughtful little boy with a shock of frizzy ginger hair and smattering of freckles across his cheeks. He sat in the corner watching the celebrations unfold around him. Rose was holding court with Harry and Ginny's eldest James and bill and fleurs eldest victoire pronouncing that on her birthday she would have cake and fireworks and that she would most definately have more presents than Hugo. Hugo looked sadly at his hands absorbed in the small item he had been given by grandad Arthur, Grandad arthur had told him that this was a plug and it was the first plug that he had ever collected. Grandad Arthur had encouraged him to start his own collection. Now Hugo had seen many plugs before and knew that this,whilst a special gift from his grandad, was no different than the plug which was attached to the kettle at home. Hugo didn't see as his uncle George sidled up quietly to sit beside him. Molly however saw George move silently over to the little boy sat in the corner, she watched intently as George whispered something into the little boys ear. She saw a smile spread across Hugo's face as a small box was passed to him gently. Hugo nodded at his uncle George then got up and walked over to where Rose and the other children were sat talking. Molly saw as Hugo placed the box a few feet away from his sister and turn to nod at his uncle George. Molly saw the ghost of a smile cross George's face as he clicked his fingers, Suddenly the room was lit up in blues and greens as a cacophony of fireworks erupted from the box scattering the small group of children in every direction. Molly watched as the withdrawn little boy was bent over double laughing at the scene which he had caused and heard the cries of her grand daughter Rose as she told her mother what her dratted brother had done. However as the fireworks ended and the resulting disruption died down Molly's attention was drawn to her son still sitting in the corner, his head resting gently against the wall with his eyes closed and the ghost of a smile remaining on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

As the years went by the smiles on George Weasley's face grew more frequent. More often than not George could be found hunched over a cauldron in the back room of the joke shop with a small boy at his side. Frequent bangs, hisses and pops interspersed with loud giggling could be heard throughout the shop much to the surprise of customers and the annoyance of Ron who had the job of reassuring customers that "no, the shop isn't going to explode" and "yes, this is perfectly normal". Ron would often pop his head through the swing doors of the back room to find his son and brother whispering conspiratorially whilst writing on long sheets of parchment. Ron would often feel put out that Hugo and George were as thick as thieves together and could not always shake the unerring feeling that they were plotting something. However Ron was happy to see that his little boy was now becoming a happier and more outgoing child and overjoyed to see some of the old mischievousness on his brothers face that had been absent for so long.

Hermione sat at the kitchen table in the burrow watching Molly stir something in a pan that was bubbling merrily away on the hob. Molly was humming along to the wireless tunelessly utterly absorbed in her activity.

"Molly, I'm beginning to think that Hugo is maybe spending too much time at the shop" said hermione.

"Sorry dear, what did you say?" Replied Molly

Hermione sighed "I think that George is starting to rub off Hugo"

"How so dear?" Said hermione's as she turned to face hermione.

"We'll just yesterday morning Rose came running into our bedroom crying that there were spiders in her bed. Well, you know how Ron is about spiders? So of course I was the one that had to go and investigate"

"Go on" replied Molly a frown starting to form on her face.

"Well when I pulled back the covers there was a spider the size of a krup nestled on her pillow! Honestly I have never screamed so loud!"

"The size of a krup?" Exclaimed Molly

"Yes it was huge! I shudder to think of how Ron would have reacted, well anyway I went to shoo it away with a book and suddenly it started to tap dance and sing i'm a little tea pot! Then when it had finished its song it exploded into a mound of glitter. It took three charms to get rid of the mess!"

Molly tried to suppress the grin that was spreading across her face.

"That's not the only part of it Molly" exclaimed hermione "when I turned around Hugo was stood in the doorway staring at where the spider had been and smiling"

"Oh really?" Mumbled Molly having difficulty containing the grin that was now threatening to appear

"Hugo said "well I'll have to let uncle George know that the spider works!" Then he sauntered off mumbling something about glitter ratios. Honestly, I don't know what has got into him. It's not the first time he has done something to poor Rose, there was the incident with the headless hat! Three hours it took me to reverse the charm! Three hours!" Hermione said exasperatedly

Molly couldn't contain the laugh that was threatening to explode. Hermione sat back in her chair and watched as her mother in law bent double laughing so hard that she was having trouble drawing breath

"I fail to see what is so funny Molly" grumbled hermione "poor rose is traumatised"

"Oh I'm sorry dear" said Molly, as she wiped away tears that had formed in her eyes. "I'm sure poor Rose is suitably traumatised but knowing that girl she'll be cooking up some revenge for Hugo no doubt!"

"Yes, she will" conceded hermione "but it still bears the issue that Hugo is becoming a little tear away and I do believe it is down to all the time that he spends at the shop"

"Oh hermione, he's just being a little boy, it's what boys do. Take it from me I've raised 6 of them!"

As Molly uttered the end of the sentence the bright mirth that had lightened her eyes began to fade " well 5 now" she sighed "hermione dear you worry to much Hugo is just becoming a young man and given the family he is from this behaviour is to be expected. Why when the twins were Hugo's age they teased Ron mercilessly and Ron has turned out just fine... Well apart from spiders! And yes that is because of the twins"

Molly sat at the table reaching over and took hermione's hands in her own "hermione I am so grateful to Hugo. He has brought my George back to me, it's as if he has given George something to live for and I cannot thank him enough for that, so please do not be too harsh on him. Please don't stop him going to the shop"

"Ok Molly, I won't stop him from going to the shop but he does need to be suitably reprimanded for his behaviour" sighed hermione.

"Oh my dear, I know just the thing!" Replied Molly.

"Arthur...Arthur...ARTHUR..." Shouted Molly from where she was sat.

"Yes..." Came the muffled response from somewhere in the garden.

"Do you need any help organising your plug collection this weekend?" Asked Molly coyly.

"Well yes I could do with a hand, I have some new plugs coming from that young chap in America i was telling you about. How nice of you to offer to hel-"

"Oh no not me" me said Molly, cutting him off mid sentence "Hugo will be coming to help you isn't that nice!"

"Oh lovely, I can see how his own plug collection is coming along, takes after his granddad that young lad, likes his plugs as much as I do..." Arthur said, mostly to himself.

"See dear" Molly said looking at Hermione smiling "he's not going to know what's hit him. Now would you like some soup?" Molly got up turning back to the stove leaving Hermione with a bemused expression on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

**I really should have put this at the beginning, but here it goes.**

 **the characters and stories belong completely and wholly to the wonderful jk Rowling, I've just let them out of the box for a bit :)**

 **this is my first attempt at writing Fanfiction and would really really appreciate some feedback! So please review if you like it, review if you hate it or review just to say you were here!**

 **and on with the story**

George Weasley leant back in his chair holding his sides laughing as the boy in front of him recounted the prank that he had pulled on his older sister.

"Honestly uncle George, you should have seen the look on mums face when it started to sing! It was hilarious!" Hugo giggled. "Although I now have to spend the weekend with grandad organising his plug collection, I bet it'll take hours..." He sighed turning morose

George wiped the tears from his eyes and asked

"What about the glitter? Was there enough?

"Enough? I overheard mum telling Dad that she had to scourgify Rose's sheets three times! I don't think she enjoyed that though the blue sparks were in her hair at that point even dad looked scared and he's really brave!" Hugo said his voice rising as his enthusiasm returned.

"Your dad? Brave? Watch this!" Laughed George "Ron can you come here a minute I need your help?"

"George, I'm really busy out front what is it?" Asked Ron looking harrangued

"Can you just pass me the bucket over there I can't leave this" George said pointing at a cauldron with its glass stirrer turning clockwise at a furious pace.

Ron turned to the bucket scowling as he went muttering something about lazy brothers when suddenly he let out a girlish high pitched scream "spi...spi...spi...SPIDER!" Ron yelped as a large brown spider came tap dancing towards him. Ron ran backwards at an alarming rate his eyes fixed on the prancing spider what Ron didn't realise though was that he was careering towards the bubbling cauldron.

"Watch out dad" Hugo shouted as Ron knocked over the cauldron the contents of which landed all over his work robes.

Slowly the robes which Ron was wearing began to change colour, it started at the edge with a deep purple fading into the most garish shade of pink Hugo had ever seen. George vanished the spider and turned to face his brother. The sight before him had George struggling to contain his laugh, he noticed Hugo with his hand clamped over his mouth as if it would be enough to keep the laughter from escaping, it didn't work Hugo's laughter pealed out across the room causing George to start guffawing aswell.

Ron looked down at the now ruined robes at then glared at his brother. "Change. Them. Back" Ron said menacingly. Ron whipped round and looked at his son with such ferocity that the boy stopped tittering as abruptly as if someone had cast a langlock curse on him.

Ron heard George speak up. "No can do oh brother of mine, it'll wear off in time although that shade does suit you? Maybe we should consider changing the work robes to this?"

Ron turned to advance on his brother his face and ears turning as pink as his robes when he suddenly heard a little voice pipe up.

"I'm sorry dad, I'll help you in the shop. I'll stack the shelves and you can stay behind the till that way you can hide the robes"

Ron turned to look at his son who was looking bashful and slightly afraid. Ron looked down at the robes and sighed. "Come on then, what do you reckon your mum will think of them?"

"She'll hate them" smiled Hugo

"Well all the more reason to wear them" smirked Ron

Ron took his sons hand and walked through the double doors leading into the shop. George watched as his brother and his nephew walked away hand in hand chattering to each other about all the things that Hermione hated.

George whispered to himself "oh Freddie I wish you could meet Hugo, he would make you so proud"

George smiled sadly and turned to clear up the rest of the spilt potion.


	5. Chapter 5

As time went by Hugo turned from the withdrawn socially awkward little boy into a confident and outgoing young man. Everyone remarked on the startling difference over the past 5 years. But a change was also noticed in George, gone were the days where George would be absent from himself. Hugo had given George something he never thought would return, his spark.

And with this in mind George observed the gathered Weasley's that were sat around the long table at the burrow. George looked at Hugo who was in deep conversation with James Potter he could over hear as Hugo exclaimed and sighed as James unraveled the mysteries of hogwarts. Today was Hugo's 11th birthday which meant that in September Hugo would be taking the train from kings cross station and leaving for hogwarts. George thought back fondly to his first experience of being on the school train. His excitement of being away from home just him and Fred against the world, what fun they would have. George noticed his mum staring at him from across the table a knowing smile gracing her face and a warning flashing in her eyes. It was as if she knew when something was being plotted, George stored this information in the back of his mind and went back to thinking about how the years had unfolded.

The joke shop had gone from strength to strength, under Ron's watchful eye it had grown from its original premises in Diagon Alley to two more premises in both Hogsmeade and Cardiff. Who would have guessed that behind the bumbling cover of Ron Weasley lurked a shrewd mind for business that knew when to exploit an opening in the market. The joke shop now carried different lines including potions and disposable charms aimed at making life easier for harried witches and wizards on the go. Their best selling line was still the joke boxes and the skiving snack boxes had made a surprising rise in sales recently, most likely helped by the double page spread in the Prophet which cited the snack boxes as the 3rd most common reason for ministry employees being absent from work. There was talk of having to regulate the products and register the sales, George found this hilarious and laughed off the suggestion that the products posed a public health risk.

George himself had taken a back seat in the running of the shop being happy to hand over the controls to Ron and to take more active focus in product development. George had become quite renowned in the wizarding world at inventing and modifying potions, culminating in a nomination in the potioneers quarterly magazine most promising protegee's list. George had over 50 registered potions to his name only a handful of which were actually used in the joke shop products. George's inspiration for his potions came largely from his little nephew, the little boy over the years had sustained some quite serious injuries and was exceedingly accident prone. Frequently Ron had bemoaned about how he could not get his son to accept the remedies that he needed, so therefore George took it upon himself to create potions that would taste great but still do the job that was needed. And so the Potions for Poppets line was born, it's best selling product was a cherry flavoured skelli-grow which was used throughout with great success.

George turned and stared at the little boy. He was soon going to lose his little friend for long parts of the year and this thought saddened him. He realised he had begun to rely on the young boy to keep his sense of fun alive, he never felt closer to his old self than when he was discussing ideas in the back room of the joke shop with Hugo.

"Oh well" thought George "I will just have to keep in touch through owls" George turned to look at his plate and sighed.

Things were changing.

"Uncle George, Uncle George! Tell James it's true that you and Uncle Fred made a swamp at hogwarts!" A small voice called out from down the table.

The adults all collectively inhaled and held there breath at the mention of Fred's name. It wasn't that people did not want to talk about Fred it was fear that it would upset George to have to dredge up painful memories of his lost twin. All eyes were focused on George.

A smile broke out across George's face " why yes we did, it was so big that it stayed in place for 2 weeks. Although that is not the only thing me and Fred did at hogwarts come on kids come with me and i'll tell you a story" at this George stood up and left the kitchen, a swarm of children following in his wake headed up by a smug looking Hugo informing James that "I told you it was true"

The adults at the table let out there breath and turned to Molly who was smiling serenely.

"What was that mum?" asked Ron

"That Ronald Billius Weasley, is your brother coming back to us" slowly wiping a tear from her cheek

"Oh" replied Ron "I thought that was going to end differently, anyway what's for pudding Mum?"

Molly looked at her youngest son and shook her head. Hermione was right when she described Ron as having the emotional range of a teaspoon.


	6. Chapter 6

**Again sadly I don't own anything in this universe. I've just let them out the box. Please review regardless if you love or hate it :)**

 **Thankyou :) levicorpus x**

September quickly rolled around as it always did and the young family's found them selves stood on the platform at Kings cross station. The children looking resplendent in their uniforms stood proudly at the edge of the platform. Ron watched his son as he chatted nervously to the other children around him, he overheard snippets of conversation about what house that they would be in. He watched as Hugo shyly showed a small brown haired child the orange Pygmy puff that his uncle George had given him only a week before. Ron wished that George could have come to station to wave Hugo off to hogwarts, but George resolutely refused reporting that a Weasley always had to remain at the wheezes. Ron understood why George did not want to come to the station, he knew that watching Hugo be taken away on the train would take a little piece of George with him. And that this was piece that George could not see leave. Ron worried about how George would cope without Hugo by his side but knew that Hugo had to leave to spread his wings and become a young man. He just worried what would become of George.

At the precise moment that Hugo Weasley left platform 9 3/4 on the hogwarts express, George Weasley was distracted by distinct tapping at his workshop window.

A dignified brown owl sat perched on his window sill looking imperiously at the mess which George had infront of him, the owl thrust it's leg in George's direction staring intently at the recipients face. George tentatively untied the letter from the owls leg and quickly withdrew it. The owl peered at George as if asking a simple question, George stared blankly back at the over sized bird wondering what he was meant to do. The bird ruffled its wings and then took off, George stared as the owl slowly grew into a smaller dot in the distance.

George looked down to the envelope his hands and turned it over. There glaring up at him was the hogwarts seal, ruby red and as bold as ever. George stared at the seal for nearly a full minute, a million questions running through his mind. "Had they found the dung bomb hidden in filch's cupboard? The shrieking daisy pods had finally bloomed in greenhouse 6? Ridiculous" he thought to himself. George reached Into the counter drawer and retrieved a small silver letter opener. Making deft cuts across the top of the envelope he unfolded the inner contents.

Dear Mr George. F. Weasley

I graciously request your consideration at the request which I am about to make.

Hogwarts currently finds itself in a quandary following the hasty departure of our esteemed potions master Prof. V. Corianus. Unfortunately due to his expedited departure we find ourselves lacking a potions master for the Autumn term. I understand whilst instruction is not an enterprise which you may have foreseen yourself being involved with, I humbly request your involvement with our curriculum.

I await your response

Yours faithfully

Prof. M. McGonagall

Headmistress

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

P.s: please George we are desperate

Regards

M

George stared at the short missive in his hands a teaching position at hogwarts? Merlins beard! He expected the founders to roll over in their graves before he would be welcomed to teach at hogwarts. Well this was an opportunity! George grabbed a scrap of paper scribbling his reply

Professor,

Count me in!

Sincerely

George

P.s don't put me in the dungeons.

George called for one of the delivery owls, he deftly tied the response to its out stretched leg and took it to the window.

"Now you fly quickly, do you understand?"

The owl stared blankly back into George's face. It spreads its wings and took off into the sky George watched as it slowly disappeared.

"Well then" he thought "best get to it!"

George looked around the workshop grabbing any item he could. He pushed everything into a tatty shoulder bag. He took one last look at the workshop then spun on the spot thinking of Percy Weasley's office in hogsmeade, he just hoped Percy wasn't entertaining clients at that exact moment.


	7. Chapter 7

N **ot mine, never will be sadly. Hope you are enjoying this as much as I am enjoying writing it! Any ideas for where it should go next? Please review good or bad?**

Percy Ignatius Weasley looked up from his desk as his younger brother suddenly appeared infront of him. George appeared to be out of place in this oasis of order and calmness.

"George? What on earth are you doing here?" Percy asked

"Well" said George " I'm on my way to Hogwarts. They've asked me to teach potions! Can you believe it?"

"No" said Percy frankly. "No disrespect George but why would they want you? It's not as if you have the best academic record or that you even finished school! They must be desperate. I'd heard that Martin Corianus had left abruptly, some nasty business with a banshee apparently, but really you were Professor McGonagall's choice?"

"Well it's nice to see you too Percy, I see you still have all the tact and grace of the whomping willow" George murmured. "Anyway I only stopped by on my way up to the castle and if you don't have anything positive to say I'll be on my way, thankyou very much".

And with that George turned swiftly on his heel and marched out of Percy's office.

George trudged up the long path leading to the castle, he reminisced about all the times that he and Fred had made this journey back up from Hogsmeade over the years. A sadness washed over him that he would never hear the taunting voice of Fred who would be chiding him along telling him to hurry up or they'd miss the opportunity to prank Filch. George pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he looked up at the great winged boars that mounted the pillars of the front gates of hogwarts. It felt strange to be back at this place where he had lost so much, regardless of the years that had passed the pain and stab of grief was still as sharp as ever. George took a deep breathe and stepped through the gate, he felt a warm tingling sensation wash over him as the wards accepted his presence in the castle grounds. George looked up at the castle entrance and saw a solitary figure stood in the entrance way; the steel hair pulled tightly into a bun at the back of their head, small glasses balanced imperiously on the end of a dainty nose and the bearing of a person who had seem much and lost more.

"Mr Weasley. I am so glad to see you. Thankyou for coming so quickly, I would never have asked if we weren't desperate"

George stood as the older woman suddenly swooped down and embraced him warmly, "who would have thought old McGonagall would have been a hugger" he thought. The older woman wrapped her arms around him and seemed to not want to let go.

"Oh my boy, I know it is a big ask for you to return here but we are in need of you"

George followed McGonagall silently to her office watching as the older woman moved regally through the hall way embodying power and grace as she went, time had been kind to Minerva McGonagall she looked as unchanged as she did 30 years ago. McGonagall sat behind an ornate desk and offered George a cup of tea and a ginger newt which he graciously accepted

"Now Mr Weasley I'm sure you have many questions but first of all let me say that thankyou I know it must be difficult, we have been left in a tight spot with Corianus leaving us, unfortunately that could not be avoided the man should have known better than to become involved with a banshee" the older witch shook her head sadly " the healers say he will never be the same again. So we now have the situation where there is no teacher. The board of governors are not happy with your appointment but I have assured them that you are one of the finest minds in the wizarding world and with the correct application you can achieve great things for our students and the school"

George leant back in the chair gobsmacked at such high praise from the headmistress.

"Well then Mr Weasley am I to understand that you accept the offer of employment?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall I would be happy to, however my one condition is that I don't have to live in the dungeons"

George heard a snort of derision from a portrait of a lank greasy haired individual with an abnormally large nose coming from behind him.

"Oh, hush Severus!" Barked McGonagall "absolutely Mr Weasley, or should I say Professor Weasley? And welcome to Hogwarts. If you follow the house elf they will take you to your lodgings and dinner is due to start in an hour, you are expected to be in attendance. We will make your introductions then"

George turned to look at the small house elf next to him who stared up beaming next to him.

"Come with me professor I will shows you to your rooms" the house elf squeaked

Minerva watched as George Weasley left with the small house elf and sighed happily. This would be the start of something amazing. She could feel it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine. I really wish they were**

 **Please review**

George sat in the rooms which were now his very own. They were exceedingly plain and rather drab pale brown and grey stone as far as the eye could see.

"Well" thought George "I suppose I had better do something about it hadn't I?"

George turned to the sitting room come kitchen area, with a wave of his wand he transformed it into a myriad of colour. Jewel tones and opalescent hues covered every available surface. The sofa which had sat looking rather dejected was now piled high with brilliant orange and red cushions and blankets covered in sequins and tassels. Not bad he thought a bit Dumbledore-esque but not too bad. He wandered through to the bedroom, it had a small en suite attached to it just enough to provide for a single person. The room itself was slightly reminiscent of the dormitorys in Gryffindor tower it was perfectly round with a four poster bed sat squatly in the centre. The bed was horrendous it sagged in the middle and looked like it had lost a battle with a rather large former occupant. George again waved his wand and with a few muttered words changed the bed from the depressed to the divine. It was still the same 4 poster but now had intricate carvings and a big thick and fluffy counterpaine in bright blue. George was quite satisfied with his improvements.

He sat on his sofa sipping a cup of tea which seemed to have appeared from thin air, the room it seemed could anticipate his needs. George tested this out by imagining the most ridiculous food combination he could. A marzipan covered roast chicken materialised and George looked at it bemusedly well this was a turn up for the books. George took a small piece of parchment from the kitchen worktop and hastily penned a quick note to Ron.

Ron,

I know I said about a Weasley always being at the wheezes but you'll never guess what? Old McGonagall has finely lost her marbles. She's only ruddy asked me to be the new potions professor? I can imagine your face reading that and yes I know. Yes I was her choice and yes she thinks I'm suitably qualified. Go figure?

So if you could please can you send on some of my belongings?

Best of luck with the shop. Owl me if there's any problems

Bye

Prof. George. F. Weasley

George folded the letter and began to make his way to the Owlery. When he arrived he selected the biggest most important looking owl he could and tied the letter to its leg.

"Now" he said to the owl "take this to Ron Weasley please, feel free to give him a good pecking if you feel like it? He can be stingy with owl treats"

The owl peered at him the took off. George watched as it flew away. He turned and started to walk down the twisting staircase making his way to the great hall, he knew it was now time to be introduced to the school. Oh the joys.

George took a seat between Hagrid and Filius Flitwick. Neither had changed much in the years since the war Hagrid a little greyer at the temples but the diminutive charms professor looked exactly as he ever had, small, grey haired and merry.

Minerva McGonagall stood and cleared her throat from the middle of the teachers table.

"Ahem, now I realise that you will all now be aware of the sudden departure of Professor Corianus. I would like to take this opportunity to also lay a rumour to rest. No, The portrait of Professor Snape will not be taking over the classroom and the teaching of potions"

The great hall let out a collective sigh of relief, it was apparent that a few of the occupants had run foul of the portraits acerbic tongue and had heard horror stories of the erstwhile potion masters teaching methods.

"I would like to introduce you to our new potions professor. Professor Weasley"

A murmur rippled through the assembled group of children, George looked down at the four long tables recognising some of the faces. George stopped and beamed broadly as his eyes rested on a small frizzy haired boy sat near his older sister and cousins on Gryffindor table.

Hugo gave George a small wave which made George smile even wider.

George stood up and drew a breath.

"Hi there, some of you might know me from Wizarding Wheezes, it's a pleasure to be here and I hope that we can make this year as interesting as possible. Those who have class with me tomorrow please bring three items that are important to you and you will find out the rest in the morning. Now let's eat"

George sat down his eyes looking at his plate tomorrow was going to be a long day. Dinner passed by in a noisy and unhurried fashion. George found himself drawn into a conversation about whether the study of the life cycle of lace wing flies would be an important addition to the care of magical creatures curriculum. George realised that he had no particular thoughts about this topic and so tuned out retreating into his own mind, his thoughts passed to his first lesson tomorrow. George knew what he was planning to do may be considered a bit unorthodox to some but what better way to inject some fun into the classroom. George sat back in his chair letting the atmosphere wash over him. It felt good to be here at Hogwarts.

Hugo looked up to the teachers table at his Uncle George. "This is the going to be the best year ever!" He thought. Hugo had been sad that he was leaving his uncle George behind when he went to school so when he saw Uncle George sat up at the top table he thought he would burst with happiness.

"What had uncle George said about lesson tomorrow?" He thought "three things that are important to me? Hmm I can't very well take Rose, James and Albus to lessons with me". It dawned on Hugo that a very specific plug was in the bottom of his trunk.

"Well that's one thing sorted" he giggled to himself.


End file.
